Month: August 2018

Clara Barton

We know her as Clara Barton, but her full name is Clarissa Harlowe Barton. She was named after a character from the novel Clarissa or the History of a Young Lady, which her aunt was reading when Clara was born in 1821.

– Clara became a teacher at the age of 16. Later, when she was 30, she opened a free school in Bordentown, New Jersey.

– She also had a job as a clerk in the U.S. Patent Office.

– When the Civil War began, she worked as a battlefield nurse. One of the soldiers to whom she tended told her, “This is the second time you saved my life.” He then explained that she had been his teacher in New Jersey.

– Clara was first introduced to the International Red Cross when she visited Switzerland while recovering from a nervous breakdown after the war. She suggested starting an American Red Cross to President Chester Arthur, he loved it. Clara was named its first president in 1881.

Her property is closed due to much needed rennovations.

http://www.mentorpl.org/10-interesting-facts-about-clara-barton-the-founder-of-the-american-red-cross/

Echo Park

Echo Park Entrance

In the early 20th century the Chautauqua site was turned into an amusement park named Glen Echo Park. The amusement park was one of the larger establishments of its type in the Washington, D.C. area, and was very popular well into the late 1940s. By the mid-1950s, however, attendance began to decline due to the growing popularity of larger regional theme parks, such as Disneyland. Another blow to the park occurred in 1960 when the trolley line from Washington, D.C. ceased operation.

https://glenechopark.org/events

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glen_Echo_Park,_Maryland

Carderock Park

Carderock’s name is first recorded as a 1,705 acre tract registered in 1802 with state of Maryland by Robert Peter of Georgetown.

The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park is located in the District of Columbia and the states of Maryland and West Virginia. The park was established in 1961 as a National Monument by President Dwight D. Eisenhower to preserve the neglected remains of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal and many of its original structures.

The canal and towpath trail extends along the Potomac River from Georgetown, Washington, D.C., to Cumberland, Maryland, a distance of 184.5 miles. In 2013, the path was designated as the first section of U.S. Bicycle Route 50.

 

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chesapeake_and_Ohio_Canal_National_Historical_Park

The Barns at Hamilton

The Barns at Hamilton Station Vineyards is a family owned and operated winery housed on a refurbished dairy farm.  The winery is located just off of Route 7 in the quaint, historic town of Hamilton, Virginia

Which of these effects looks best?

Which of these suite your fancy?

My favorite highlights

Located:
16804 Hamilton Station Rd
Hamilton, VA 20158

Hours
Monday: 11:00AM-5:30PM
Thursday: 11:00AM-5:30 PM
Friday: 11:00AM-8:00PM (last call at 7:30pm)
Saturday: 11:00AM-5:30PM*
Sunday: 11:00AM-5:30PM

https://www.thebarnsathamiltonstation.com/

National Clustered Spires High Wheel Race

It’s a one of a kind experience.   This old fashioned race is held yearly in Fredrick Maryland.

High Wheel Bicycle (also known as Penny Farthing)

A high wheel bicycle (also known as a penny farthing, high wheeler and ordinary) is a type of bicycle with a large front wheel and a much smaller rear wheel that was popular in the 1880s. The first Penny farthing was invented in 1871 by British engineer, James Starley. The Penny Farthing came after the development of the ‘Hobbyhorse’, and the French ‘Velocipede’ or ‘Boneshaker’, all versions of early bikes. However, the Penny Farthing was the first really efficient bicycle, consisting of a small rear wheel and large front wheel pivoting on a simple tubular frame with tires of rubber.

https://www.highwheelrace.com/

 

 

Sully Plantation Chantilly, VA

Sully Plantation 

The earliest recorded claim to the land was made by the Doeg.  Later the Lee family of Virginia owned the land from 1725 to 1839. Richard Bland Lee did not build the main house until 1794. Following the purchase by William Swartwort in 1838, Sully was used as a home, a working farm, or both by a series of private owners. Then in 1958, Sully was acquired by the federal government as a part of the area to be used for the construction of Dulles Airport.


https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/sully-historic-site

LOCATION
3650 Historic Sully Way, Chantilly, VA 20151-3037

Chinatown Washington, D.C.

Chinatown is a small historic neighborhood of Washington, D.C.
The area was mostly populated by German immigrants however Chinese immigrants began migrating to the area in the 1930’s after being displaced from the original Chinatown along Pennsylvania Avenue.

Alleged member of Abraham Lincoln assassination conspiracy. Born Mary Jenkins in 1820 in Waterloo, Maryland. Mary Surratt has the dubious distinction of being the first woman executed by the U.S. government. She was hanged for treason in 1865.

According to Wiki:
After Lincoln was murdered, Surratt was arrested and put on trial the following month, along with the other conspirators. She was convicted primarily due to the testimonies of Lloyd, who said that she told him to have the “shooting irons” ready, and Louis J. Weichmann, who testified about Surratt’s relationships with Confederate groups and sympathizers. Five of the nine judges at her trial asked that Surratt be granted clemency by President Andrew Johnson because of her age and sex. Johnson did not grant her clemency, though accounts differ as to whether or not he received the clemency request. Surratt was hanged on July 7, 1865 and later buried in Mount Olivet Cemetery. She has since been portrayed in film, theater and television.

Read more about her story at:
http://www.surrattmuseum.org/mary-surratt

Her house is now a restaurant pictured above.

Other popular attractions include:
Capital One Arena
National Portrait Gallery and Smithsonian American Art Museum
Washington Convention Center
German cultural center Goethe-Institut
Marian Koshland Science Museum.

Best places to eat:
https://www.tripsavvy.com/restaurants-near-chinatown-in-washington-dc-1038456

National Portrait Gallery

8th and F Streets, NW Washington, DC 

Home to several exhibits including:
■ America’s Presidents
■ The Struggle for Justice
■ Portrait Connection
■ Special Exhibitions
■ American Origins, 1600–1900
■ One Life
■ American Experience
■ Folk and Self-taught Art
■ Graphic Arts
■ American Art through 1940

Did you know:
The original residents of the buildings were employees of the US Patent Office.

 

Bull Run Battle

Gen. Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson figured prominently in two Confederate victories here. Also known as “Bull Run,” the First Battle of Manassas on July 21, 1861, ended any illusion of a short war. The Second Battle of Manassas, August 28-30, 1862, brought Southern forces to the height of their military power. The two battles are commemorated on this 5,000 acre battlefield park.

Confederate Casualties at First Bull Run (approximate) Beauregard and Johnston’s combined force of 30,800 had 390 killed, 1,600 wounded, and about a dozen missing, a total of approximately 2,000 or about 6.5 percent. Both sides suffered about the same number of killed and wounded.
Source: www.historynet.com/bull-run-casualties

 

https://www.battlefields.org/visit/battlefields/bull-run-battlefield

The Stone House was built to be both a wagon stop and a private residence, on the 2nd floor. As it was strategically located right across from the toll gate located on the new 1828 Warrenton Turnpike, it was used as place to rest, grab a bite to eat and enjoy some hard drinking before traveling down this marvelous private, paved road. In the early part of the 19th century, many goods were taken to cities by horse and wagon; driven by drovers and teamsters; the 19th century version of the 20th century truck drivers. The owners had living quarters on the second floor and did very well indeed for the 22 years that they owned it.

Starting in 1850, the next owners of The Stone House were Henry and Jane Matthews. Unfortunately, they were not as successful because of the building of the new railroad stop in the city of Manassas in the 1850’s, causing their road business to steadily decline. The Matthews family turned to farming corn, oats and hops to make ends meet. During the Civil War, the Matthews family found that the location of the Stone House was not an income enhancer, and down right dangerous.

In 1861 and 1862, they found that their Stone House and their farm property was swallowed up by the two battles of Bull Run. Despite the two invasions of wounded soldiers into their establishment, they held onto their property.

The Stone House became a field hospital for wounded men of both sides, because of its location.
Source: http://www.hauntedhouses.com/states/va/stone_house.htm

During Stonewall Jackson’s attack at Henry House Hill, the Confederate soldiers charged with their bayonets and screamed a terrifying high pitch battle cry that later became known as the “rebel yell.”

6511 Sudey Road
Manassas, VA 20109, USA